Nián
by tsaintg
Summary: D tells Chris the myth behind Chinese New Year, of the coming of the beast Nián and his desire for human flesh.  ChrisTetchan.  Yaoi.


Chris giggled, snapped his fan open, a flash of red against winter white skin. The boy didn't know what he was doing, scampering around the place in tiny red shorts he'd had since he was twelve and one of Leon's red tank tops that hung off him.

"Some say that Nián comes from the sea," Count D had told him, in little whispers while Leon had scoffed and muttered about nonsense. "But I know for a fact that Nián is of the mountains. That he comes for human flesh but once a year is also a myth. Both of these are perpetrated by his protector, the immortal."

"Let me guess," Leon had interrupted. "The beast was really gentle and sweet, and all those deaths were really the fault of victim because, after all, they _had _signed contracts."

D had sniffed in delicate disdain and Leon had taunted and then it had gone from being comfortable to charged in no time flat and Chris had escaped, but taken the story to heart.

_Teeeeeee-chan_, Chris called, and peeked around his fan before covering his face again. Tetsu felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle. _You know, the Nián can survive on a diverse diet, D says._

"Hmm…" Playing it cool, like he was completely uninterested.

_Yep_, Chris said, lips smacked on the plosive for effect. _But for some reason_, he drawled, _around New Year's, the yearning for human flesh becomes nearly irresistible_.

"Terrific," Tetsu muttered, flipping the page of his magazine rather pointedly.

_Do you ever get hungry for human flesh?_ Tetsu looked up in disbelief. Chris' legs were spread wide over the corner of the desk, foot tapping over and over against the side. The shorts barely extended beyond where hip met thigh, if that, showcasing boyish, hairless limbs traced in bright blue veins. _I was just wondering,_ Chris persisted, _because I know you've had it before, and D has said that human flesh is addictive._

"D shouldn't be discussing such things with you," Tetsu snapped.

_They say red frightens the Nián, but I wonder if maybe it _excites _him…and then perhaps, the very thing that humans do to save themselves in fact damns them. If D was the immortal, I think he'd find it fitting._ Chris flicked him a sly look.

Tetsu went back to his magazine, holding it in a tight grip. Just a little bit of pressure behind his claw down the inside of Chris' thigh and the skin would give. Chris' fan snapped shut, catching Tetsu's attention. Chris brushed the shut fan over his right cheek—"yes," in that secret fan language D had taught Chris ages ago. It was insane, that Chris could _know_ what he was thinking. Chris giggled and tapped his fan to his right cheek again.

_So_, Chris went on blithely, _what about it, Tet-chan? Is it the season? The colour? Or just all those people, bursting with emotion, faces flushed in the cold, blood so close to the skin you can almost taste it?_

The kid really didn't know what he was saying. Chris snapped the closed fan in his hand and put it to his right cheek again. It was insane.

Chris hopped off the edge of the desk and strolled over, plucking the magazine from Tetsu's slightly numb fingers. Where _had_ everyone gone, anyway? D wouldn't stand for this kind of dialogue, and Leon would have had fits by now and put some _real_ clothing on Chris.

_Leon brought some raw sugar,_ Chris told him. _I don't even want to think about what they're up to right now_._ There's some left over, but I didn't really think sugar was your speed._

Chris dropped something in Tetsu's lap, spun on his heel and walked to the door before turning to look over his shoulder. The shorts had ridden up, the smooth lower curves of his ass peeking from beneath, red from how he'd been sitting. He slid the fan half-open very precisely and pressed it to his lips—"you may kiss me." And then he was gone from the doorway, slippered feet scuffing down the hall. Tetsu looked down at what Chris had given him—a lai shi, like the ones D passed around to Leon and Chris and all the pets this time of year. He tore open the flap, turned over the envelope and out fell a slender tube of scented oil.

Tetsu caught him in an alcove far in the labyrinthine depths of the petshop. Chris dropped the fan to the ground with a clatter, breathing hard. Tetsu grabbed him by the upper arms and shoved him hard against the wall. Chris giggled softly, nervously. The sound became a sigh as their lips met. Tetsu wanted to be gentle. Chris made him want it, but he could hear the blood rushing beneath Chris' skin, the rapid beat of his heart.

"Knew it excited you," Chris murmured breathless against Tetsu's mouth. Tetsu growled and sunk his teeth into Chris' lower lip, enough to bring a hot rush of bright copper liquid spilling between their mouths. Tetsu sucked at Chris gently at first, and then with growing intensity as the flow began to staunch.

Little bites down the delicate line of Chris' neck, close to the surface, beads of blood welling up so fast he couldn't lick them all away, not all at once, and all the while Chris moaned, head back against the wall, fingers thick in Tetsu's hair. He shoved the straps down Chris' shoulders and the tank top just fell to the ground.

Tetsu inhaled deeply at Chris' neck, down his shoulder, letting the scent of _Chris _wash over him in all its complexity. There were the human smells—sweat, pheromones, the salty physical manifestation of his arousal…but there were also those things only the pets in this shop could discern—desire, devotion, giddiness, contentment…playfulness. Never any fear, not for Tetsu, something entirely unique to Chris.

Chris tugged on the hair in his grip, up, and Tetsu followed dots of blood up, connecting them with his tongue. He could never decide if blood was better fresh or dried, or as it was congealing. Chris didn't shrink away from a blood-laced kiss, wetting his tongue against his still leaking lip and thrusting it between Tetsu's lips. So far gone from the shy little cry-baby he'd been.

Tetsu got them both naked quickly, Chris doing a little shimmy to work down the tight shorts, revealing that he wore nothing beneath and kicking them away to quickly plaster himself to Tetsu, arms clinging around Tetsu's shoulders. He would get taller, maybe, if Leon was any indication, and already he was at eye level with Tetsu. Still he had this way of falling into Tetsu's embrace that made him seem small and fragile. Tetsu crushed him close with kisses, letting his hands smooth down the soft curve of Chris's spine, up his sides making him shiver, down to his hips to hold him in place, let him feel Tetsu's desire.

_Please_, Chris whimpered, and it would never stop being hot, the way he sounded in Tetsu's head while they kissed. _T-chan, please fuck me._ It was a rare treat, Chris so far gone he didn't care about foreplay, but then Tetsu knew he'd been in a kinky mood since the early morning, going around dressed like he was a kid again, sucking on lollypops and playing games and it was _really _fucking hot.

Chris turned his back and put his hands on the wall, spread his legs so far it took him down an inch or two. And Tetsu didn't need to be asked twice and got two oil slicked fingers right up Chris' tight little ass, crooked them til Chris was begging and screaming, and Tetsu wasn't sure if it was in his head or out loud, but hoped the were far enough within the petshop that Leon wouldn't hear and come to investigate.

It didn't take any more preparation than that, and Chris was humping the wall, pleas falling softly from his lips. Tetsu shoved into him in one solid, quick thrust, grinding him into the wall. Chris groaned and pushed back and instead of falling into a rhythm it became a struggle. Chris writhed against him, fought against any pattern Tetsu tried to establish until he gave up trying to do it right and just fucked Chris so hard and fast he didn't have a chance to fight and Chris loved every second of it, if his screams were anything to go by.

Chris didn't come easy, fighting against that too, until Tetsu had had enough and grabbed both of Chris' wrist with one hand and jerked him off with the other, biting down on the nape of Chris' neck and groaning at the flavour spilling over his tongue. Sex always gave Chris' blood a unique and scintillating spice. Chris came with a curse on his tongue and Tetsu's name echoing in his thoughts. Tetsu pounded into him a few more times, unable to hold on any longer, amazed he'd lasted as long as he had.

Head to Chris' shoulder, Tetsu caught his breath, brought his hand to his lips, sucking his cum-covered fingers into his mouth, catching them with his teeth, swirling together the taste of blood and ejaculate. Chris watched Tetsu over his shoulder, lids low over his eyes making him look sleepy and seductive.

"I had no idea New Year's made you so horny," Tetsu breathed, drawing his spit wet fingers down Chris' side, walking them over Chris' ribs, delighting in the feel of Chris' skin quivering under the touch.

"D says that traditionally, New Year's was a time for romance and match-making…the Lantern Festival being the one night a year when girls could go about unchaperoned and there was no curfew…" Chris told him. He twisted his hips and Tetsu gasped and withdrew himself from Chris' body. Chris spun on him, threw an arm around his shoulder, did that wilty thing that made him seem shorter.

"Leon and D are so busy with each other they don't even look twice at us. When else could we have got away with doing this in the _hall_?" He arched a brow.

"And besides, living in a dorm makes me lonely for you," Chris went on, pouting. "So I'd suggest you take advantage of my mood and fuck me silly for the next seven days, because after that I won't see you again until Easter."

Chris pressed a quick kiss to Tetsu's lips and then slipped out of his embrace, ducked to pick up his fan and clothing, and disappeared around the corner with a giggle. The red lanterns lining the hall made everything look warm and bright, and there would be fireworks tonight after dinner, and Chris wasn't Chinese and was human, but somehow it all fit very well. So the Nián did what he was good at, and gave chase.


End file.
